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AstraZeneca’s US-listed shares bounced yesterday amid last-ditch hopes that
its increasingly vocal shareholders in Britain could force it into a £69
billion merger with the American drugs group Pfizer.

Nearly 4 per cent was added to the value of Astra’s price on the New York
stock exchange yesterday as shareholders on the other side of the Atlantic
turned up the pressure on it to reopen talks about a £55-a-share proposal
from Pfizer. Astra’s US shares touched $75, while in London they closed 61¼p
higher at £43.69¾. Pfizer was just over 1 per cent higher, at $29.55, as
dealers took different